Created Out of Mind were The Hub’s main residents between October 2016 and July 2018.
Goals
Created Out of Mind aimed to “shape the conversation around dementia” during their time at the Hub.
Many of the group’s core members came from the Dementia Research Centre (DRC) at University College London. The team aimed to explore what dementia means to all of us, as well as challenging definitions of the condition.
Research outputs
During their residency, the group examined how artistic activity affected people with dementia “in the moment” rather than measuring the effects of music as therapy.
One study saw team members take samples of the stress hormone cortisol from people with dementia as they sang in a choir. The idea was to see if people with dementia felt – for example – elated or sad while they were singing.
They also held regular rare dementia support groups.
As well as reports and papers on the group’s research, the team helped produce and host ‘Why Music? The Key to Memory’– a weekend of special programmes exploring memory on BBC Radio 3.
‘Our experimental approach incorporates… working together as an interdisciplinary team – precisely the opportunity afforded to us by Wellcome’s Hub Award.’
The Team
Professor Sebastian Crutch
Sebastian Crutch is Director of Created Out of Mind. His research includes work on function and language in people with neurodegenerative disease and stroke. He was the winner of the 2015 Alzheimer’s Society Dementia Research Leaders award.
Julian West
Julian West is Head of Open Academy at the Royal Academy of Music. He combines his career as an oboist with research work into the field of music and dementia.
Dr Paul Camic
Paul Camic is Professor of Psychology and Public Health at Canterbury Christ Church University. His research includes work on community arts programmes and people with dementia.
Charlie Murphy
Charlie Murphy is a visual artist working in sculpture, photography, performance and video. She is a senior lecturer in photography at Kingston University.
Fergus Walsh
Fergus Walsh is the BBC’s Medical Correspondent, working on Panorama, Radio 4’s Today and Radio 5 Live. He’s reported for the BBC from more than two dozen countries on everything from stem cells and genetics to malaria and swine flu.
Gill Windell
Gill Windell is a senior research fellow in the Dementia Science Development Centre at Bangor University. Her research combines science and arts to see if people can ‘live well’ with cognitive impairment.